“Retractions”, a correction mechanism to remove unreliable publications, have increased significantly since the late 1970s. Thus, Exploring their patterns and drivers is crucial to develop effective strategies. For this research, we analyzed multi-decadal entries of life sciences in the Retraction Watch database since 1976 to understand the trends and drivers of retraction across time, countries and reasons. We also explored retraction dynamics with collaborative networks of retracted authors and the cultural dimension of retracted author affiliate countries. Our results revealed a 12–20% increase in retractions over decades in conference proceedings as well as journals with most of the authors of these studies from China (39.42%), the United States (15.81%) and India (5.03%). Interdisciplinary life science articles (20.26%), Cell Biology (19.08%), and cancer biology (13.61%) had high retraction rates among life sciences. Non-compliance with ethical and regulatory guidelines was the primary reason (23%) for retractions followed by publication and data integrity. The study revealed a close-knit collaborative network among retracted authors and the positive influence of the country’s long-term orientation (e.g., attitude towards future reward) on retraction magnitude. This study also highlighted the need to establish a dedicated Research Ethics and Integrity Office at institute and national level for an effective capacity-building programme to reduce incidents of scientific misconduct and article retraction.